Clothing article with one or more fasteners or connectors

ABSTRACT

An article of clothing having a fastener or connector thereon that may allow the article to be fastened to an associated article of clothing to prevent accidental or unwanted removal thereof. The article of clothing may be further adapted to prevent a child from removing the clothing without first separating the fastener/connector thus preventing the child from removing the article of clothing by slipping a portion of their body out of the article of clothing without a parent&#39;s intervention.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/959,521 filed on Jan. 10, 2020, the entirety ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of clothing andapparel. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to articlesof clothing for infants and toddlers. Specifically, the presentdisclosure relates to articles of clothing for infants and toddlershaving connectors attached to the ends thereof for operable connectionbetween clothing pieces.

BACKGROUND Background Information

Young children, particularly infants and toddlers, are known to removearticles of clothing freely without regard to the location or theambient temperature of their environment. Most commonly, these youngchildren tend to remove smaller articles such as socks and/or mittensand may further discard these articles once removed. Further, if sucharticles are easily and quickly removable, the young child may evenremove and discard it in a place such as a supermarket, park, or inanother public area, thus discarding the article where it may be lostand/or not able to be retrieved. Other times, the child may remove thearticle and place it in their mouth, creating an unsanitary situationand/or a choking hazard. Therefore, it is advantageous for parents to beable prevent the removal of such clothing articles, both for the risk ofloss, as well as for the safety and/or wellbeing of the child.

While it is desirable and advantageous to frustrate a child's efforts inremoving such articles of clothing, it is likewise advantageous to havethese particular clothing articles be easily removable by parents toquickly and easily dress or undress the child and/or to access the childfor reasons of changing clothes, bathing, diaper changes, and the like.

Previous efforts to address these issues have involved creating articlesof clothing that are permanently secured together, such as one-piecestyle bottoms wherein a sock or footie forms a part of the pant leg.This style of clothing may frustrate parents as the entire articletypically needs to be removed for diaper changes and the like. Otherefforts to address this issue have included connectors that allowarticles of clothing to be attached, but that are easily overcome by anadult. Many of these devices fall short, however, in that children areonly temporarily frustrated and may still overcome such devices. Forexample, one such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No.6,247,183 to Haas-Laursen (“the '183 patent”), which involves providinga sock or bootie having snaps thereon for connection to a pair of pants.The sock in the '183 patent may be attached to the bottom of a pant legusing a snap, a loop closure, or a button. This particular device, andothers like it, typically place fasteners only on the sides of the leg,near the lateral sides of a child's ankle, which may allow these devicesto be overcome by a child with only slightly more than minimal effort.As children grow and become stronger, they are quickly and easily ableto overcome such devices, thus, frustrating or otherwise rendering theseattachments ineffective.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure addresses this and other issues by providingarticles of clothing with fasteners thereon for attaching to otherrelated articles of clothing wherein the fasteners may be located on theback portion of the garment.

In one aspect, the present disclosure may provide an apparatuscomprising: a first article of clothing having a first connector affixedto a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of ananterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; and asecond article of clothing having a second connector affixed to the rearportion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posteriormidline of the second article of clothing and aligned with the firstconnector when the first and second articles of clothing are worn, thesecond connector operable to engage the first connector to attach thefirst article of clothing to the second article of clothing.

In another aspect, the present disclosure may provide a method ofconnecting two articles of clothing comprising: affixing a firstconnector to a rear portion of a first article of clothing within 45° toeither side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article ofclothing; affixing a second connector to a rear portion of a secondarticle of clothing within 45° to the same side of an anterior-posteriormidline of the second article of clothing as the first connector;placing the first and second articles of clothing on a wearer; engagingthe first connector with the second connector.

In yet another aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosuremay provide an article of clothing comprising: fabric material defininga body; an upper portion opposite a lower portion; a front end oppositea rear end defining an anterior-posterior (i.e., front-to-rear) midlinetherebetween; wherein the body defines an opening near the rear end andnear the upper portion; an anterior-posterior midline extendingcentrally through the opening; and a first fastener affixed to a rearportion of the body adjacent the opening within 45° of either side ofthe anterior-posterior midline; wherein the first fastener on thearticle of clothing is adapted to releasably couple with a complementaryfastener on a second article of clothing. This exemplary embodiment mayfurther provide wherein the first article of clothing is a sock andwherein the sock comprises: a heel of the sock; a cuff defining theopening to the sock located above the heel; wherein theanterior-posterior midline divides, equally and centrally, the openinginto left and right halves; a lateral midline that divides the openinginto front and rear portions; wherein the anterior-posterior midline andthe lateral midline perpendicularly intersect each other to divide theopening into four quadrants, wherein the four quadrants include a rearleft first quadrant, a rear-right second quadrant, a front-right thirdquadrant, and a front-left fourth quadrant; a first diagonal axisextending through the first quadrant and the third quadrant at a 45°angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; asecond diagonal axis extending through the second quadrant and thefourth quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline andthe lateral midline; wherein the first fastener is disposed between thefirst diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. More particularly,this embodiment may provide wherein the first fastener is adjacent thecuff between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. Theremay also be an edge of the first fastener, wherein the edge of the firstfastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline. In one embodimentthe edge has a circular configuration, and wherein the first fastener isa snap-type fastener.

This exemplary embodiment may further provide a second fastener affixedto one side of the body of the sock adjacent the cuff and the openingwithin 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the firstdiagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. Additionally, there may be athird fastener affixed to another side of the body of the sock adjacentthe cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateralmidline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. Inone example, the second fastener is diametrically opposite the thirdfastener. Particularly, the second fastener may be diametricallyopposite the third fastener along the lateral midline. In this example,there may also be a circular configuration of an edge of the secondfastener, and wherein the second fastener is a snap-type fastener and acircular configuration of an edge of the third fastener, and wherein thethird fastener is a snap-type fastener.

In yet another aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosuremay provide a system comprising: a first article of clothing having afirst fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to eitherside of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing;and a second article of clothing having a second fastener affixed to arear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posteriormidline of the second article of clothing and aligned with the firstfastener when the first and second articles of clothing are worn, andthe second connector operable to engage the first fastener to releasablyattach the first article of clothing to the second article of clothing.In this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplary embodiment, the firstarticle of clothing is a sock and the second article of clothingincludes a pant leg, and wherein the sock comprises: a cuff defining anopening to the sock; wherein the anterior-posterior midline divides,equally and centrally, the opening into left and right halves; a lateralmidline that divides the opening into front and rear portions; whereinthe anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline perpendicularlyintersect each other to divide the opening into four quadrants, whereinthe four quadrants include a rear left first quadrant, a rear-rightsecond quadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and a front-left fourthquadrant; a first diagonal axis extending through the first quadrant andthe third quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midlineand the lateral midline; a second diagonal axis extending through thesecond quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a 45° angle from theanterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; wherein the firstfastener is disposed between the first diagonal axis and the seconddiagonal axis. In this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplaryembodiment, the first fastener can be adjacent the cuff between thefirst diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. In this exemplaryembodiment, or another exemplary embodiment, there may be an edge of thefirst fastener, wherein the edge of the first fastener intersects theanterior-posterior midline. Further, this edge may have a circularconfiguration, and wherein the first fastener is a snap-type fastener.Additionally, this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplaryembodiment, may further provide two additional fasteners affixed torespective sides of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonalaxis and the second diagonal axis.

In yet another aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosuremay provide a method of connecting two articles of clothing comprising:donning a first article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to arear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posteriormidline of the first article of clothing; donning a second article ofclothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereofwithin 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of thesecond article of clothing; aligning the first fastener with the secondfastener when the first and second articles of clothing are donned; andcoupling the first fastener to the second fastener, wherein the couplingof the first and second fasteners within 45° of the anterior-posteriormidline is adapted to frustrate the ability to remove the first articleof clothing. This exemplary method or another exemplary method mayfurther provide aligning the first fastener along the anterior-posteriormidline of the first article of clothing; and coupling the firstfastener to the second fastener along the anterior-posterior midline ofthe first article of clothing. In one particular embodiment the firstarticle of clothing is a sock and the second article of clothingincludes a pant leg, further comprising: de-coupling the first fastenerfrom the second fastener; selectively coupling the sock to another sockhaving a third fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° toeither side of an anterior-posterior midline of the another sock,thereby defining a mated pair of socks. Then, the method can providewashing the mated pair of socks; and drying the mated pair of socks,wherein the selectively coupled first and third fasteners remain coupledwhile washing and drying the mated pair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A sample embodiment of the disclosure is set forth in the followingdescription, is shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctlypointed out and set forth in the appended claims. The accompanyingdrawings, which are fully incorporated herein and constitute a part ofthe specification, illustrate various examples, methods, and otherexample embodiments of various aspects of the disclosure. It will beappreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groupsof boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of theboundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that insome examples one element may be designed as multiple elements or thatmultiple elements may be designed as one element. In some examples, anelement shown as an internal component of another element may beimplemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore,elements may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is an overhead plan view of a general clothing article worn onthe foot.

FIG. 2 is an overhead plan view of a PRIOR ART clothing article.

FIG. 3 is an overhead plan view of a clothing article according to oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a clothing article according to oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of a paired clothingarticle according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of the paired clothingarticle of FIG. 5A according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of a clothing articleaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of a clothing articleaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, a general article of clothing is shown as asock indicated at 10. Although described and discussed herein as a sock10, this general article of clothing may be any article of clothing wornon or about the lower extremities, including casual socks, dress socks,trouser socks, tights, slippers, booties, boots, shoes, or the like.

Sock 10 may be any known sock, including a prior art sock, and mayfurther have an upper portion 12 and a lower portion 14, an opening 16,a cuff 18, and a heel (not shown in FIG. 1). The upper portion 12 ofsock 10 may be generally defined as the portion extending upwards fromthe wearer's foot while the lower portion 14 may be defined as theportion of sock 10 that covers the foot and toes of the wearer. Opening16 of sock 10 may be surrounded by cuff 18, and may define the portalinto the interior of the sock by which a wearer inserts his or her foot.Cuff 18 may include an elastic band or similar material.

FIG. 1 depicts a generic sock 10 for purposes of defining directions andlocations of various elements thereof. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1and replicated throughout other figures herein, lines A-A, B-B, C-C, andD-D represent axes that may divide sock 10, the opening 16, and the cuff18 thereof into sections and may further provide positional informationfor other components and features of the present disclosure, asdiscussed below. It will be therefore understood that lines A-A. B-B,C-C, and D-D are included as reference lines to assist in thedescription and orientation of components of the present disclosure. Forexample, Lines C-C and D-D represent secondary diagonal axes that are45° from the primary axes represented by Lines A-A and B-B.

Line A-A may extend across sock 10 along an anterior-posterior axis(i.e., front-to-back or forward-to-rear direction) and may bisect ordivide opening 16 of sock 10 into equal left and right halves. The lefthalf of opening 16 may be the left side when viewed from the front.Thus, the left half would be the outer portion of a sock 10 worn on theright foot, and the inner portion of a sock 10 worn on the left foot.Similarly, the right half may be the right side when viewed from thefront and may be the inner portion of a sock worn on the right foot andthe outer portion of a sock 10 worn on the left foot.

Line B-B may extend across a side-to-side (i.e., lateral) axis and maybisect or divide opening 16 of sock 10 into front and back halves. Thefront half may be defined as the portion towards the front of thewearer's foot (i.e. towards the toes) and the back half may be theportion towards the wearer's heel.

Lines A-A and B-B are be perpendicular to one another thereby sectioningopening 16 of sock 10 into four quadrants (labeled as quadrants 1-4 inFIG. 1, starting with the rear-left quadrant (quadrant 1—the firstquadrant) depicted therein and proceeding clockwise around opening 16 ofsock 10), as well as the rear-right quadrant (quadrant 2—the secondquadrant), the front-right quadrant (quadrant 3—the third quadrant), andthe front-left quadrant (quadrant 4—the fourth quadrant). The quadrants1, 2, 3, and 4 are only shown and indicated in FIG. 1 and are omittedfrom the remaining figures for clarity; however, it will be understoodthat references to quadrants herein may apply to embodiments shown anddiscussed as if these quadrants were fully reproduced throughout thefigures

Line C-C may be a diagonal line or first diagonal secondary axisoriented 45° between lines A-A and B-B and extending from first quadrant1 through third quadrant 3. Line D-D may also be a diagonal line orsecond diagonal secondary axis oriented 45° to lines A-A and B-B;however, line D-D may extend from second quadrant 2 to fourth quadrant4. As shown in the figures, axes or lines C-C and D-D may be oriented at45° relative to lines A-A and B-B, thus it will be recognized andunderstood that lines C-C and D-D may be oriented perpendicularlyrelative to each other. Accordingly, in each quadrant, the anglesbetween lines will either be 45°, when comparing one of lines A-A or B-Bto one of lines C-C or D-D, or 90° when comparing line A-A to B-B orlines C-C to D-D.

For further clarity, and with regards to how these lines relate to ahuman leg and foot, line A-A would extend from the heel of the foot tothe front of the foot and/or toe region with the heel representing therear and the foot and toes representing the front. Line B-B may extendalong the left to right axis (i.e., lateral axis) through the lower legand foot. According to one aspect, line B-B may extend left to rightthrough the ankle of the wearer. Lines A-A and B-B may intersect at apoint between the ankle bones, above the heel of the wearer. Lines C-Cand D-D may then further intersect at the same point above the heel andbetween the ankle bones of the wearer, but with the 45° diagonalorientation to lines A-A and B-B, as discussed above.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a prior art sock 10 having fasteners 22attached thereto is shown. Prior art sock 10 may be substantiallyidentical to the generic sock 10 shown in FIG. 1, but for the presenceof fasteners 22. As discussed in the background above, prior art sock 10may have one or more fasteners 22 on the left and/or right sides of sock10 generally along line B-B, thus, placing fasteners 22 at or near thelateral sides of the ankles of the wearer.

While prior art sock 10 may have been effective to keep sock 10 mated toa pant leg or the like, the specific configuration of fasteners 22 alongthe left and/or right sides along line B-B fails to prevent the removalof sock 10 from a wearer's foot because a child can still pull or “slip”their heel out of sock 10. Instead, the prior art sock 10 is permittedto be removed while remaining attached or otherwise fastened to thewearer's pant leg or similar article of clothing.

With reference now to FIG. 3, a sock of the present disclosure isgenerally shown as sock 110. Sock 110 is typically formed from amaterial such as cotton or polyester that substantially define a body ofthe sock 110. The body of sock 110 includes an upper portion 112, alower portion 114, an opening 116, a cuff 118, and a heel 120. The frontend of the sock 110 is generally defined by a region of the body of thesock 110 that is sized to accept toes of the wearer and islongitudinally spaced (i.e., along the anterior-posterior direction;front-to-rear) from a rear end of the sock that is generally defined bythe heel 120. The cuff 118 is located towards the rear of the sock 110above the heel 120. Sock 110 may also be any article of clothing worn onor about the lower extremities, including casual socks, dress socks,trouser socks, tights, slippers, booties, boots, shoes, or the like.

As with sock 10, upper portion 112 of sock 110 may be generally definedas the portion of sock 110 that extends above the foot and contacts theleg of the wearer. Upper portion 112 may be best illustrated in FIG. 4.Similarly, lower portion 114 of sock 110 may be the portion extendingforward and covering the foot and toes of the wearer.

Opening 116 of sock 110 may be generally circular and may be defined asthe uppermost area of sock 110 where the wearer's foot may be insertedinto the interior of sock 110.

Cuff 118 of sock 110 may surround and define opening 116 and may form areinforced hem or other similar surface. Cuff 118 may further be afolded over double layer of material that is stitched or otherwise fixedto itself creating a thicker band. Cuff 118 may include an elastic bandor material therein to help cuff 118 conform to the contours of thewearer's leg thereby further helping to secure sock 110 in place whilebeing worn.

Heel 120 of sock 110 may be the portion between the upper portion 112and lower portion 114 that rests on or about the wearer's heel. Heel 120may be reinforced with a double layer of material or may be reinforcedby a thicker material placed thereon. Heel 120 is best illustrated inFIG. 4.

With continued reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a sock 110 of the currentdisclosure may include a connector or fastener 122. Fastener 122 may beany suitable fastener, including but not limited to a snap, button, ahook and loop fastener or other fasteners suitable for releasablysecuring sock 110 to a pant leg 124 as discussed further herein.According to another aspect, fastener 122 may be constructed out of anymaterial, including but not limited to metal, plastic or other suitablematerials. Similarly, fastener 122 may be affixed to sock 110 by anysuitable method, including but not limited to stitching, fabric welding,adhesives or the like.

Unlike prior art fasteners 22, fastener 122 may be placed on or near(such as slightly below) the cuff 118 of sock 110 at or near the rearportion thereof. According to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,fastener 122 may be placed on the anterior/posterior midline or axisindicated by line A-A on the rear portion (posterior side) of opening116, thus aligning fastener 122 with the heel of the wearer's foot andthe back or the posterior of wearer's leg. More particularly, whenfastener 122 is embodied as a snap-type connector, the snap-typeconnector includes a perimeter edge that is typically circular. Thecircular edge or perimeter edge of the fastener directly intersects theanterior-posterior midline, shown as line A-A, that equally dividesopening 116 into left and right halves. In one particular embodiment,this specific placement is critical to the functionality of the presentdisclosure and specifically distinguishes this configuration from theprior art. Namely, by aligning the fastener 122 along theanterior-posterior midline, the sock 110 is able to prevent a child frompulling or “slipping” their heel out of sock 110, and is in directcontradistinction to the prior art which only had connectors on thesides of the socks (as shown in FIG. 2) and would allow for a child toslip their heel out of the prior art sock 10.

Although the aforementioned configuration disposes the fastener 122along the anterior-posterior midline or axis (line A-A), according toanother embodiment, fastener 122 may be placed on the rear portion ofsock 110 within 45° to either side of line A-A. According to thisembodiment, placement of fastener 122 may then occupy any positionwithin 90° along cuff 118 of sock 110 as indicated as angle X in FIG. 3that is defined between line C-C and line D-D. The placement of fastener122 within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline (lineA-A), the fastener 122 is still able to perform its desired function ofconnecting the sock (i.e., a first article of clothing) to a pant leg(i.e., a second article of clothing) and prevent the wearer fromslipping their heel out of the sock with the first fastener 122 isconnected to a complementary fastener on the pant leg.

With reference to FIG. 4, fastener 122 may define a first half 122Aaffixed to sock 110 and a second half 1228 affixed to a pant leg 124 orother similar article of clothing. As discussed further herein, this mayallow the operational mating connection between the sock 110 and therear of pant leg 124. According to one non-limiting example, fastener122A may be a male portion of a snap affixed to cuff 118 of sock 110while fastener 122B may be a female portion of a snap affixed to the hemor lower portion of pant leg 124 such that operational connectiontherebetween may be made as discussed further herein.

With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, according to another embodiment, apair of socks 110 may each have a fastener 122 affixed to the rearportion thereof. According to this embodiment, one of the socks 110 mayhave a male fastener 122A while the other sock may have a femalefastener 122B. When worn, each pant leg 124 may have the correspondingcomplementary fastener 122A/B to allow operable connection thereto;however, when socks 110 are not being worn and are instead being stored,such as in a drawer, or laundered, the inclusion of a male fastener 122Aand female fastener 122B on separate socks 110 may allow the socks to bemated, as shown in FIG. 5B. This may further prevent pairs from beingseparated during laundering or when otherwise not being worn.

With reference now to FIG. 6, according to another embodiment, sock 110may have more than one fastener 122 affixed thereto. According to thisembodiment, sock 110 may have three fasteners 122 affixed at each of theleft and right sides along line B-B as well as on the posterior portionof sock 110 along line A-A, or within 45° to either side thereof.According to this embodiment, each of fasteners 122 may havecorresponding fasteners with associated pant leg 124 or similar articleof clothing. In yet another embodiment having more than one fastener122, there can be two or more fasteners 122 located with 45° to eitherside of the anterior-posterior midline (i.e., line A-A).

With reference to FIG. 7, an alternative embodiment is shown wherein thearticle of clothing may be a glove or a mitten, indicated as 210.Although discussed herein as a mitten 210, it will be understood thatmitten 210 may be any clothing article worn on or about the upperextremities, including gloves, mittens, muffs, scratch mittens, or anyother article of clothing.

According to this embodiment, mitten 210 may have an upper portion 212,a lower portion 214, an opening 216 and a cuff 218 corresponding tosimilar structures on sock 110. Further according to this embodiment,the upper portion 212 of mitten 210 may be defined as the portioncovering the back of the hand and the wrist while the lower portion 214may be the portion covering the knuckles and fingers.

Opening 216 may be the opening wherein a wearer may insert his or herhand into the interior of mitten 210. Cuff 218 may be the uppermostportion covering the wrist and may include a wrist roll or tighteningdevice, such as a wrist strap thereon.

As with socks 10 and 110, this embodiment may likewise be intersectedinto similar proportions by the series of axis lines A-A, B-B, C-C, andD-D. Specifically, line A-A may run in an anterior-posterior directionand may separate opening 216 into a left half and a right half with theleft and right halves being defined when viewing the mitten 210 from theback of the hand. Line A-A of mitten 210 may run through the wrist fromthe palm side of the hand to the back side of the hand while line B-Bmay run through the wrist from side to side in the direction between thepinkie and the thumb of the hand. Lines A-A and B-B may intersect at apoint near the midpoint within the wrist. As with lines C-C and D-D ofsock 110, lines C-C and D-D of mitten 210 may be oriented 45° from linesA-A and B-B and 90° relative to each other. Mitten 210 may thereforehave the same four quadrants 1-4 with lines C-C and D-D extendingtherethrough, as depicted and discussed with reference to FIG. 1.

Mitten 210 may further have a fastener 222 affixed on the cuff 218thereof along line A-A on the posterior portion of mitten 210. Furtheraccording to this embodiment, fastener 222 may be placed on cuff 218 ofmitten 210 at any position within the 90° angle indicated as angle Xbetween lines C-C and D-D. As with sock 110 and fastener 122, fastener222 of mitten 210 may be any fastener type as chosen for the particularimplementation thereof.

Fasteners 222 may be male or female, as chosen for the particularimplementation. According to one aspect, as with the embodiment of sock110 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, mitten 210 may have a male fastener 222Aon one hand and a female fastener 222B on the other for easy mating whennot being worn.

Fasteners 22 may connect with a similar and corresponding fastener 22affixed to a sleeve (not shown) of an associated article of clothing,such as a coat.

Having thus described the elements and features of the present clothingarticle and connectors, the operation and use thereof will be furtherdiscussed.

In operation and as best illustrated with reference to FIGS. 3-5B, thearticle of clothing with connectors of the present disclosure describedherein as sock 110 and/or mitten 210 may be used according to thefollowing method.

Sock 110 may be paired with an article of clothing such as pantsincluding pant leg 124 having a similar fastener 122 affixed to aninterior 126 rear portion thereof. Pants and socks may be placed on thelegs and feet, respectively, of a wearer while cuff 118 of sock 110 maybe inserted into the interior 126 of pant leg 124 wherein a fastenerportion 122A/B on sock 110 may be aligned with an opposite fastenerportion 122A/B on pant leg 124.

According to embodiments where in fasteners 122 are snaps, pressure maybe applied thus affixing snaps together and connecting sock 110 to pantleg 124. Removal thereof simply involves reversing the process andseparating fasteners 122A and 1228 thereby allowing removal of the sock110 and/or pant leg 124 from the wearer.

The process may be identical for mitten 210, with the exception of thecuff 218 of mitten 210 being inserted into a sleeve of an associatedgarment, rather than into pant leg 124.

When engaged, fastener 122 is contemplated and will be understood tosecure the sock 110 to the associated pant leg 124 such that a wearercannot easily remove the sock 110 without first disconnecting fastener122. As described and discussed herein, sock 110 is anticipated for usewith small children, such as infants and toddlers who are known to graspthe toe region or lower portion 114 of sock 110 to pull the sock 110 offof their foot. Similarly, the child may pull or bite on the lowerportion 214 of mitten 210. This behavior is common across all youngchildren as they grow and develop and become aware of their feet andtoes. As this behavior may cause lost articles of clothing, includingsocks and booties, it may also expose the child's extremities tounfavorable temperatures which may be the case in colder climates orcolder seasons. Additionally, when a child can quickly and easily removean article, such as sock 110, they often may throw the sock 110 or mayalternatively place the sock 110 in their mouth. These actions mayincrease the risk that the article is lost or alternatively increase therisk of germ transfer and/or choking when the article is placed into thechild's mouth.

In prior art versions where fasteners were displaced only to the leftand/or right sides of sock 10, children were quickly and easily able toremove the sock 10 from their foot because the sock could stretch andpull off of the child's heel. Although the sock may remain attached tothe pants or other similar articles, the child's foot may still beexposed to unsanitary or adverse conditions, such as cold ambienttemperatures. Sock 110 having a fastener 122 disposed on the posteriorside of cuff 118 along the anterior-posterior midline (or within 45degrees thereof) alleviates this issue by preventing and/or completelyfrustrating a child's ability to remove the sock 110 from by slippingtheir heel out of sock 110 foot without first disconnecting fasteners122.

In operation and with continued reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a methodof connecting two articles of clothing may comprise: donning a firstarticle of clothing (i.e., sock 110) having the first fastener 122Aaffixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of ananterior-posterior midline (line A-A) of the first article of clothing.Then, the method may provide donning a second article of clothing (i.e.,pants having pant leg 124) having the second fastener 122B affixed to arear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posteriormidline of the second article of clothing. This method then provides foraligning the first fastener 122A with the second fastener 122B when thefirst and second articles of clothing (sock 110 and pant leg 124,respective) are donned. Then, the method provides for coupling the firstfastener 122A to the second fastener 122B, wherein the coupling of thefirst and second fasteners within 45° of the anterior-posterior midlineis adapted to frustrate the ability to remove the first article ofclothing.

This exemplary method may further provide for aligning the firstfastener 122A along the anterior-posterior midline (line A-A) of thefirst article of clothing or sock 110. Then, selectively and releasablycoupling the first fastener 122A to the second fastener 122B along theanterior-posterior midline (line A-A) of the first article of clothing.

In furtherance to this example in which the first article of clothing issock 110 and the second article of clothing includes pant leg 124,additional steps and features are shown with respect to FIG. 5B. Thisexemplary method may continue to provide de-coupling the first fastener122A from the second fastener 122B on pant leg 124 (FIG. 4). Then, asshown in FIG. 6, the method provides selectively coupling the sock 110to another sock (shown also as sock 110 in FIG. 5B) having a thirdfastener (shown as 122B in FIG. 5B) affixed to a rear portion thereofwithin 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of theanother sock, thereby defining a mated pair of socks, as clearly seen inFIG. 5B. Thereafter, the method provides for washing the mated pair ofsocks, and drying the mated pair of socks, wherein the selectivelycoupled first and third fasteners remain coupled while washing anddrying the mated pair which is adapted to prevent the mated pair ofsocks from being lost or otherwise separated in the washing and dryingcycle or steps.

With reference to FIG. 6, with regards to the embodiment wherein mitten210 is adorned with one or more fasteners 222, a similar issue is solvedby placement of the snap on the posterior side of cuff 218 in that achild pulling on the lower portion 214 of mitten 210 will be frustratedand unable to remove their hand from their mitten without firstdisconnecting fastener 222.

As further discussed herein, embodiments of the present disclosure havebeen discussed having one fastener 122 in place or alternatively havingthree fasteners 122 in place; however, it will be recognized and furtherunderstood that any number greater than one fastener 122 may be employedin multiple positions provided at least one fastener 122 is placed inthe posterior positions as discussed herein.

Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods,of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of themethod may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments maybe constructed in which acts are performed in an order different thanillustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, eventhough shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustratedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision avariety of other means and/or structures for performing the functionand/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantagesdescribed herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications isdeemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments describedherein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations describedherein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters,dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon thespecific application or applications for which the inventive teachingsis/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able toascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalentsto the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is,therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presentedby way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claimsand equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventiveembodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individualfeature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein.In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems,articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems,articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent,is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

The articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and inthe claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should beunderstood to mean “at least one.” The phrase “and/or,” as used hereinin the specification and in the claims (if at all), should be understoodto mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elementsthat are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively presentin other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should beconstrued in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements soconjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than theelements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether relatedor unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as anon-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used inconjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, inone embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B);in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements otherthan A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionallyincluding other elements); etc. As used herein in the specification andin the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as“and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list,“or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., theinclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a numberor list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Onlyterms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or“exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” willrefer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list ofelements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only beinterpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the otherbut not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,”“one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentiallyof,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used inthe field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “atleast one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should beunderstood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more ofthe elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including atleast one of each and every element specifically listed within the listof elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the listof elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally bepresent other than the elements specifically identified within the listof elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether relatedor unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as anon-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “atleast one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) canrefer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including morethan one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements otherthan B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally includingmore than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elementsother than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionallyincluding more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including morethan one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

When a feature or element is herein referred to as being “on” anotherfeature or element, it can be directly on the other feature or elementor intervening features and/or elements may also be present. Incontrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directlyon” another feature or element, there are no intervening features orelements present. It will also be understood that, when a feature orelement is referred to as being “connected”, “attached” or “coupled” toanother feature or element, it can be directly connected, attached orcoupled to the other feature or element or intervening features orelements may be present. In contrast, when a feature or element isreferred to as being “directly connected”, “directly attached” or“directly coupled” to another feature or element, there are nointervening features or elements present. Although described or shownwith respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so describedor shown can apply to other embodiments. It will also be appreciated bythose of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature thatis disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap orunderlie the adjacent feature.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper”, “above”, “behind”, “in front of”, and the like, may be usedherein for ease of description to describe one element or feature'srelationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in thefigures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if a device in the figures is inverted, elements described as“under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented“over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under”can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may beotherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and thespatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.Similarly, the terms “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal”,“lateral”, “transverse”, “longitudinal”, and the like are used hereinfor the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicatedotherwise.

Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describevarious features/elements, these features/elements should not be limitedby these terms, unless the context indicates otherwise. These terms maybe used to distinguish one feature/element from another feature/element.Thus, a first feature/element discussed herein could be termed a secondfeature/element, and similarly, a second feature/element discussedherein could be termed a first feature/element without departing fromthe teachings of the present invention.

An embodiment is an implementation or example of the present disclosure.Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,”“some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” or “other embodiments,”or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiments is includedin at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, ofthe invention. The various appearances “an embodiment,” “oneembodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” or “otherembodiments,” or the like, are not necessarily all referring to the sameembodiments.

If this specification states a component, feature, structure, orcharacteristic “may”, “might”, or “could” be included, that particularcomponent, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to beincluded. If the specification or claim refers to “a” or “an” element,that does not mean there is only one of the element. If thespecification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does notpreclude there being more than one of the additional element.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in theexamples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may beread as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if theterm does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately”may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate thatthe value and/or position described is within a reasonable expectedrange of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may havea value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1%of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (orrange of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10%of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical rangerecited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein.

Additionally, any method of performing the present disclosure may occurin a sequence different than those described herein. Accordingly, nosequence of the method should be read as a limitation unless explicitlystated. It is recognizable that performing some of the steps of themethod in a different order could achieve a similar result.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitionalphrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,”“containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are tobe understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limitedto. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consistingessentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases,respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual ofPatent Examining Procedures.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

Moreover, the description and illustration of various embodiments of thedisclosure are examples and the disclosure is not limited to the exactdetails shown or described.

What is claimed:
 1. An article of clothing comprising: fabric materialdefining a body; an upper portion opposite a lower portion; a front endopposite a rear end defining an anterior-posterior midline therebetween;wherein the body defines an opening near the rear end and near the upperportion; an anterior-posterior midline extending centrally through theopening; a first fastener affixed to a rear portion of the body adjacentthe opening within 45° of either side of the anterior-posterior midline;and wherein the first fastener on the article of clothing is adapted toreleasably couple with a complementary fastener on a second article ofclothing.
 2. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the firstarticle of clothing is a sock and wherein the sock comprises: a heel ofthe sock; a cuff defining the opening to the sock located above theheel; wherein the anterior-posterior midline divides, equally andcentrally, the opening into left and right halves; a lateral midlinethat divides the opening into front and rear portions; wherein theanterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline perpendicularlyintersect to divide the opening into four quadrants, wherein the fourquadrants include a rear left first quadrant, a rear-right secondquadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and a front-left fourthquadrant; a first diagonal axis extending through the first quadrant andthe third quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midlineand the lateral midline; a second diagonal axis extending through thesecond quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a 45° angle from theanterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; and wherein thefirst fastener is disposed between the first diagonal axis and thesecond diagonal axis.
 3. The article of clothing of claim 2, wherein thefirst fastener is adjacent the cuff between the first diagonal axis andthe second diagonal axis.
 4. The article of clothing of claim 2, furthercomprising: an edge of the first fastener, wherein the edge of the firstfastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline.
 5. The article ofclothing of claim 4, further comprising: a circular configuration of theedge of the first fastener, and wherein the first fastener is asnap-type fastener.
 6. The article of clothing of claim 2, furthercomprising: a second fastener affixed to one side of the body of thesock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of thelateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonalaxis.
 7. The article of clothing of claim 6, further comprising: a thirdfastener affixed to another side of the body of the sock adjacent thecuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midlinebetween the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.
 8. Thearticle of clothing of claim 7, wherein the second fastener isdiametrically opposite the third fastener.
 9. The article of clothing ofclaim 8, wherein the second fastener is diametrically opposite the thirdfastener along the lateral midline.
 10. The article of clothing of claim7, further comprising: a circular configuration of an edge of the secondfastener, and wherein the second fastener is a snap-type fastener; and acircular configuration of an edge of the third fastener, and wherein thethird fastener is a snap-type fastener.
 11. An system comprising: afirst article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to a rearportion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posteriormidline of the first article of clothing; and a second article ofclothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereofwithin 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of thesecond article of clothing and aligned with the first fastener when thefirst and second articles of clothing are worn, and the second fasteneroperable to engage the first fastener to releasably attach the firstarticle of clothing to the second article of clothing.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the first article of clothing is a sock and the secondarticle of clothing includes a pant leg, and wherein the sock comprises:a cuff defining an opening to the sock; wherein the anterior-posteriormidline divides, equally and centrally, the opening into left and righthalves; a lateral midline that divides the opening into front and rearportions; wherein the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midlineperpendicularly intersect to divide the opening into four quadrants,wherein the four quadrants include a rear left first quadrant, arear-right second quadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and afront-left fourth quadrant; a first diagonal axis extending through thefirst quadrant and the third quadrant at a 45° angle from theanterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; a second diagonalaxis extending through the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline;and wherein the first fastener is disposed between the first diagonalaxis and the second diagonal axis.
 13. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising: wherein the first fastener is adjacent the cuff between thefirst diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.
 14. The system ofclaim 12, further comprising: an edge of the first fastener, wherein theedge of the first fastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline.15. The system of claim 14, further comprising: a circular configurationof the edge of the first fastener, and wherein the first fastener is asnap-type fastener.
 16. The system of claim 12, further comprising: twoadditional fasteners affixed to respective sides of the sock adjacentthe cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateralmidline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.17. A method of connecting two articles of clothing comprising: donninga first article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to a rearportion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posteriormidline of the first article of clothing; donning a second article ofclothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereofwithin 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of thesecond article of clothing; aligning the first fastener with the secondfastener when the first and second articles of clothing are donned; andcoupling the first fastener to the second fastener, wherein the couplingof the first and second fasteners within 45° of the anterior-posteriormidline is adapted to frustrate the ability to remove the first articleof clothing.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: aligningthe first fastener along the anterior-posterior midline of the firstarticle of clothing; and coupling the first fastener to the secondfastener along the anterior-posterior midline of the first article ofclothing.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first article ofclothing is a sock and the second article of clothing includes a pantleg, further comprising: de-coupling the first fastener from the secondfastener; and selectively coupling the sock to another sock having athird fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to eitherside of an anterior-posterior midline of the another sock, therebydefining a mated pair of socks.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising: washing the mated pair of socks; and drying the mated pairof socks, wherein the selectively coupled first and third fastenersremain coupled while washing and drying the mated pair of socks.